Elimination game forces Rockets to compete with passion, poise

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Chandler Parsons and the Rockets enter Game 5 with the belief that they are capable of becoming the 9th team to crawl out of a 3-1 series deficit. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

The Rockets did what had to be done, reconvening on the Toyota Center practice court and regrouping from the agonizing overtime loss that pushed them to a hole from which only eight NBA teams have escaped.

The Rockets don’t have much trouble believing they can win after three of the four fourth quarters against the Trail Blazers ended with the teams tied. In four games, Portland has outscored the Rockets by seven points.

“It’s deceiving when you look at the numbers down two (games),” former Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon said after his session working with Dwight Howard. “The focus is just one game tomorrow, and shift the game back to Portland. Just focus on that.

“You have no choice now. The good news is the team believes now. They can see they can beat that team.”

The Rockets had no difficulty pointing to the stakes in Game 5, repeating the familiar win-or-go-home warning. But with the series on the line, they must summon the urgency suitable for the occasion and produce the discipline and poise that have been fleeting.

Remain positive

“We don’t want to come out and swing for the fences right away,” forward Chandler Parsons said. “We want to play our game and our style with the understanding that this is it. We don’t want to go home. We don’t want the season to be over. We think we are a better team than them. So we’ve got to go out there and prove it.

“We are positive. It’s not over in our eyes, and we have a chance to play a team on our home court, and it has been competitive all series long. Every game has been so close it could easily be the other way, and we just have to continue to grind. Our season is on the line.”

One who’s been there

That reality inspired the Rockets to take several of Tuesday’s steps. Only one Rockets team came back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, so the team brought in Elie to talk about the combination of togetherness and toughness required.

“Mario has been in that situation,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He just told them how they had to play, how they had to pull together, and you know – what you’ve got to do.”

There for the taking

To the Rockets, that means matching passion with poise. They have played well enough to hold double-digit second-half leads in three of four games. But down the stretch, they have seemed caught up in the moment, a real danger in the first elimination game of the series.

“At all times on the floor, you have to stay composed,” Howard said. “You can never show an opponent they’ve got you beat. In a lot of these games – including myself – we had plays when we got mad at each other instead of picking each other up, making faces when we were upset.

“We just have to stick together, stay focused and believe. I have a lot of faith in these guys that we can turn this around. We can’t do it separately. We have to stick together. We have to stay focused. And I’m going to keep saying it: We’ve got to believe.”

Scowling at one another, a frequent early-season issue the Rockets seemed to have left behind when they began a three-month roll in January, was just a symptom. The real test will be whether they can avoid the tendency to “do it separately” down the stretch by holding the ball and going one-on-one rather than moving the ball quickly as they so often preach.

Finish the game

“We have to go from playing for 44 minutes to playing for all 48,” Howard said. “If we do that, we’ll turn this series around. I’ve got full belief in this team. We have to trust each other. We have to fully believe. That’s the only way we’re going to win.”

At this point, those attitudes take on greater importance. The adjustments that are part of every playoff series have been made. The Rockets changed their lineup. They changed their defensive rotations. They added rookie guard Troy Daniels to the mix.

They said winning the next game that could go either way will come down to the small plays that have made a big difference.

Hustle and flow

“Everybody has made their tweaks and done some stuff,” McHale said. “Now it is about who is going to get the loose ball … and who is going to make the plays down the end. Also, who is going to play within themselves and execute their offense the best and make some plays?”

With that in mind, the Rockets started the comeback they hope will return them to Portland with a few words from a former player for both of their championship teams.

“It’s a great example,” Parsons said. “It shows that it is possible and gives us hope. We really do believe that this thing isn’t over, and we have to continue to play and expect it to be close again, and we have to finish out games.